Rosethorn (10 page)

Andrew laughed.

Sera quickly put a hand on his mouth.

“Shh!  You’ll wake my grandmother!”

“I should leave.”

“No!” Sera put a hand on her own mouth. “No,” she said more quietly. “Don’t leave." She wrapped her legs around his waist tightly as her arms snaked around his neck. “I won’t let you.”

“Christ, Sera, don’t do that." Andrew started to get up, taking her arms off his neck and pushing up from the circle of her legs.

“Was I doing it wrong?"

“Oh, no, no. No." He sat on the edge of the bed, his hand in his mouth. “I just didn’t know it would be so...hard
,” he chuckled.

“Don’t you want to kiss me anymore?"

He looked at her, his eyes flashing, “God, yes." She took his hand and pulled him to her.

“Then kiss me until I fall asleep."

“How about if I hold you, like this?" Andrew lay sideways and cradled Sera in the crook of his arm. She snuggled next to him and closed her eyes.

“As long as you don’t leave.”

“But I have to go home sometime. I snuck out,” He whispered as he stroked her hair.

She traced the curve of his Adam’s apple, the length of his jaw, and rested her finger on his lips. His eyes, his face, the pale hair on his tanned arms, the bristly softness of his newly shorn head, the hard square of his shoulders.  His whole body underneath his clothes was a foreign land she was aching to
explore. “What have you done to me?"

He lowered his head, his mouth on her neck. “You’re all I think about. I can’t breathe without you in my head, my body, everywhere, even when I close my eyes, you’re there..." Sera arched her neck and moaned, feeling as if every inch of her skin was begging to be touched by those lips.

Unable to stand it any longer, she found his mouth and pushed herself against him, wanting to devour him and, in turn, be devoured by him. She was falling, falling, falling...

He raised his head and edged away from her. “I have to go now." He quickly got up.

“Stay. Please." Sera stayed on the bed, feeling abandoned, her arms outstretched to him.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“Yes, I do." She sat up, her mouth parted.

He looked at her, almost pained.  He shook his head.

“No. No, you don’t." He started climbing over her desk to the window. “We’ll see each other tomorrow.”

When she didn’t reply, Andrew stopped, one leg out the window. “Right?"

Sera had her legs drawn up, arms crossed over them.

“Right
?” he insisted.

Sera nodded. He sat out the window ledge, then placed his hands on the ledge and turned, before lowering himself.

“See you later, he gasped as he hung on, waiting for her to say goodbye.

Sera moved quickly from the bed and leaned out the window, catching him in one last kiss.

“See you later.”

He swung his legs to the edge of the storage and with one foot on it, inched down the ledge, until both feet were planted squarely on the roof. It took him moments to climb down and then he was picking up his bike.

Sera felt cold and wrapped her arms around her bare shoulders.

He looked back and raised a hand, holding it in the air before riding away.

Chapter 8

If she had to describe the days that followed, Sera would have been at a loss for words. It was made up entirely of her senses, awakening all at once.

How Andrew tasted, sometimes sweetly late at night in her room, other times salty, as in the hot afternoon. How his skin felt, his rough hands, the stubble on his chin grazing her neck, his tongue in her mouth. The fresh way he smelled first thing in the morning and his dizzying, musky scent after he had been laboring all day under the sun. The sound of the wind rushing past them as they drove to the beach or his voice murmuring in her ear as they lay in her bed, the beat of his heart, the quietness between them when they didn’t have to speak at all to know what the other was feeling. The blur of sunlight and green trees as seen from the window of his mother’s van, his face half in shadow as he bent to kiss her. And most of all, the constant yearning that burned hotter than full-blown summer.

School finally ended and they had what seemed like countless days to themselves.

Allison was going away to Baltimore for a month-long visit with her father, arranged before she and Paul started going out. Allison was hysterical, crying nonstop in the days before she had to leave. She could not bear to be torn from Paul, who was gloomy and taciturn as they said their good-byes for the summer. He was going to try and borrow enough money to visit her for a week, but it could not console Allison.

Sera watched them both at the airport, her heart filled with pity for the couple, who clung to each other even as the last boarding call went out. Allison broke free from Paul’s arms and ran to the door, tears streaming down her face as she waved farewell.

It was with guilty relief when Sera saw Andrew afterwards. There was no shadow of such a parting between them. The summer was all theirs and the wide world was waiting to be explored.

One day they made the drive to the city, Andrew behind the wheel of his mother’s van and Sera next to him. They flew down the highway south, past San Rafael, Larkspur, and Tiburon, the golden hills and green trees a blur. They blasted music on the ancient stereo and rolled the windows down for there was no air conditioning. Sera leaned out the window, her heart full, her hair flying out in thick strands in the wind. She watched Andrew as he concentrated on driving, both hands on the wheel.

There was darkness when they entered the tunnel by Sausalito and when they exited in the bright sunlight, she held her breath—the Golden Gate Bridge rose before them, the city shimmering beyond that, floating on the azure waters of the Pacific. It had never looked quite as beautiful before. As they neared San Francisco, she looked up at the massive red towers of the bridge set against a cloudless blue sky,
feeling that it was all there just for them on this perfect day.

They parked by Stow Lake then bought hot dogs and sodas at the Swiss-like concession lodge and rented a paddleboat to tour the shallow lake in the middle of Golden Gate Park. They stopped paddling under the stone bridge, where it was cool and dark, and ate their lunch. Ducks swam past and quacked angrily at them. The park smelled of moss and ferns, ancient and woodsy.

After lunch, they circled the island in the middle and when Sera saw the waterfall where Japanese tourists were taking pictures of one another, she was reminded of the one thing she had been wanting to do. Although Andrew was at first reluctant, she convinced him to let her take pictures of him.

They paddled to a shady spot near the Chinese pavilion.

“Do you want me to pose?" Andrew had puffed up his chest and flexed his arms.

“No. Just relax
,” she said from behind the lens. “Tell me about your family, your mom and dad, your brothers."

She took a few snapshots as he started, letting him loosen, and waited until he had stopped looking tense and got used to the camera in front of him, then started snapping the real pictures she wanted.

To her he was an explosion of color- from his golden hair to his deep blue eyes. The golden tones of his skin captivated her imagination. She usually preferred black and white, but with Andrew, only color would do him full justice.

She wanted to set on film that expression in his eyes which made her breathless, his mysterious half-smile, the unexpected moment when he laughed, showing all of his teeth, his Adam’s apple bobbing, the lean profile that showed the curve of his cheek and the length of his hard jaw.

She recalled what the man at the party had said to her, of the woman she would become. She wondered about the man that Andrew would become and if she would be there to see it.

“No more pictures,” Andrew said after awhile. “I want to see your face." He reached over and let the camera hang from her neck. “Stop hiding.”

They continued back to where they started and returned the paddle boat. Walking hand in hand, they entered the park and strolled down the main drive, which was closed to cars on Sundays. People on bicycles, surreys, roller blades, and skateboards were freely moving in the middle of the street. They passed sunbathers on the grass taking advantage of a warm, sunny day in the usually cold and foggy city and paused to watch a group of rollerbladers dancing and doing leaps to loud dance music.

Strolling some more, they paused on the bridge by the De Young Museum. There was a sign which read, “Free Swing Lessons on Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m." They looked out below to the grove of trees and benches, at the edge of which was a great stone band shell with a stage. A crowd was dancing to big band music. Sera looked eagerly at Andrew, who looked doubtful. She kept looking up at him, mutely begging.

“I can’t dance,” Andrew had his hands open, palms up.

“We’ll just watch.”

“Okay,” Andrew reluctantly said as Sera pulled him after her.

They made their way to the edge of the stage and watched the dancers, some in jeans and tennis shoes, others in sweats, as if they had been jogging and spontaneously decided to start dancing, while quite a few men wore zoot suits and fedoras, their partners in 40s dresses, bright red lipstick, scarves in their hair and open-toed pumps. Sera started bobbing to the music, her face lighting up as she watched the dancers twirl, feet dancing in dizzying speed, making jumps and flips, all in rhythm to the trumpets and drumbeats of “Jump, Jive, an’ Wail."

Andrew watched Sera as she tapped her feet excitedly to the music, then studied the dancers on stage, paying attention to their feet. He shook his head.

The song ended, then “Rock This Town” came roaring on.

“I love this song!” Sera exclaimed, clasping her hands.

“Let’s go." Andrew grabbed her hand.

“Can’t we just stay for this one?”

“Let’s go do this." Andrew said as he took off her backpack and laid it on the ground.

Sera looked at him open-mouthed, then smiled wide as he moved a few steps and held out his hand. “But we don’t know how to swing-dance.”

“That’s okay, we’ll just make it up as we go along. All they do is throw each other around anyway.”

He put his hand on her waist and she placed her hand on his shoulder, then bopping his head a little, started swaying with her to the music.

“It’s a good thing you’re wearing your boots!" Andrew said as he turned about with her. “Sorry in advance if I step on you." Sera looked up at Andrew and laughed.

“Are you ready?” He shouted over the loud drumbeats and guitar strumming. “
We’re gonna rock this town, rock it inside out...
” sang Brain Setzer.

“Yes
!” she shouted back.

“Okay, hang on!"

Andrew picked her up and twirled her fast. Sera screamed in delight, her hair flying all around her, her skirt flaring out with the wind, beaming at Andrew, who was looking down at her triumphantly. He set her down, did a few turns, then flung her out, pulled her back in and dipped her with a wicked smile.

Sera jumped into Andrew’s arms.

“Whoa!” he laughed as he staggered back. Wrapping her legs around him, her arms entwined about his neck, Sera kissed him as he slowly turned them both to the music.

“Thank you,” she said softly.
             

A cheer went up as the song ended in a final guitar twang.

“This alright?” he teased with a grin.

She answered him with another long, wet kiss, the music booming over them and everything else forgotten.

*****

Minutes after Sera’s grandmother left for work one morning, Andrew was knocking on her front door, a nervous smile on his face. Sera had pulled him in and shut the door and ran up the stairs, Andrew running after her until he caught her in his arms, the two of them entangled and turning in a heated kiss until they tumbled onto her bed, laughing.

“Good morning." Sera grinned as she licked her lips.

“Good morning
,” Andrew said, his eyes focused on her mouth. “How long have we got?”

“I don’t have to be at Mrs. Delgado’s until two."

“What are we going to do until then?” he asked, his mouth tugging softly at her earlobe, making Sera lightheaded.

“Ohhh, God, I don’t know." Sera eyes closed in rapture. “Let’s just stay here all day."

“That’s probably not a good idea." Sera’s eyes flew open.

“Why not?”

“Oh, I don’t know." Andrew was breathing hard. He got up and sat on the edge of the bed, a pained look on his face.

“What’s wrong?"

“Nothing. I was, uh, playing hoops last night and knocked into some guy." Andrew was bent over, his hands clenched tightly between his thighs.

“What!  Let me see." Sera was alarmed and tugged at his hand.

“No!  No. I’ll be okay in a minute." Andrew turned from her and stayed bent. He looked all around her room.